The Anonymous Widower

The Dickin Medal

The Dickin Medal is the Animals VC and it has just been won by a black labrador, called Treo, in Afghanisthan for finding improvised explosive devices.

To me, two animals who have won the Dickin Medal stand out.

One is Able Seacat Simon, who was the ship’s cat on HMS Amethyst during the Yangtze Incident.  I remember the making of the film of the incident at Felixstowe in the 1950s, so it probably sticks in my mind.

The other was Judy, the only dog to be recognised as a prisoner-of-war by the Japanese.  I first read about her in the obituary of Len Williams in 2006. CPO Williams was also on the Amethyst, but later had an easier posting on the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Unlike Simon, who died in quarantine at the age of about two, Judy lived to be 14.

February 24, 2010 - Posted by AnonW | World | Animals, Obituary